EcoWaste Coalition

EcoWaste Coalition is a public interest network of community, church, school, environmental and health groups pursuing sustainable solutions
to waste, climate change and chemical issues facing the Philippines and the world.

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02 August 2015

An
environmental watchdog urged local authorities to be on the alert as customs
authorities scamper for alternative disposal options for the controversial
Canadian garbage shipments following strong rejection by the government and
people of Tarlac last month.

“To prevent such eventuality, we call upon concerned local government units
(LGUs) to pass preemptive measures that will prohibit the disposal of garbage
from Canada or any other countries in facilities under their jurisdiction,” said
Aileen Lucero, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Ordinances or resolutions by concerned provincial, city and municipal councils
would frustrate any move by the Bureau of Customs to dispose of the reeking foreign
garbage locally instead of shipping it back to its origin,” she said.

“LGUs should enact a blanket prohibition on foreign waste disposal to send an unambiguous
message to Canada and the entire world that no part of the country is willing
to be a global trash bin. It is a patriotic and precautionary act in the
name of public health and the environment that will surely draw the respect and
support of their constituents,” she said.

The EcoWaste Coalition particularly urged Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal and Metro
Manila LGUs hosting landfills, cement kilns or incinerators where Canada’s
garbage may be transported for final disposal to take precaution against such threat.

“While Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado had verbally rejected the potential dumping
of Canada’s garbage in Bulacan, we think it is vital for the Provincial Board,
as well as for the concerned municipal or city councils, to formally say no to
foreign waste disposal in their province be it through dumping or burning,”
said Lucero.

Bulacan is home to three landfill facilities located in the municipalities of
Obando and Norzagaray and in San Jose del Monte City, as well as cement plants using
municipal waste as alternative fuel.

“We also call upon the City Councils of Navotas City and Quezon City to take a firm
stance against foreign waste dumping and disallow the use of landfills in Tanza
and Payatas, respectively, for imported garbage,” Lucero said.

The EcoWaste Coalition urged all LGUs to step up the genuine enforcement of Republic
Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, towards increased waste
prevention and reduction to ultimately cut the volume of residual waste
requiring environmentally-sound disposal.

The group pointed out that imported trash such as the 103 container vans of
garbage from Canada would not qualify as “municipal waste,” which is defined
under R.A. 9003 as “wastes produced from activities within local government
units,” explicitly excluding wastes generated abroad.

01 August 2015

"Ang Makulay na Bahay" storytelling activity held on July 31, 2015 at Dagat-Dagatan Elementary School, Navotas City in cooperation with the local chapter of Rotary Club International.

Distinguished environmental health
advocates from the Philippines and abroad welcomed the groundbreaking
publication of a storybookto educate kids and adults about toxic
lead and how to prevent exposure.

Last week, the EcoWaste Coalition released “Ang Makulay na Bahay” (The Colorful
House), the first-ever Filipino children’s storybook about lead in paint and
dust written
by Dr. Luis P. Gatmaitan, a medical doctor and an award-winning children’s
literature fictionist and essayist, and illustrated by graphic artist Gilbert
F. Lavides.

Illustrious recipients of theGoldman Environmental Prize, known by
many as the green Nobel Prize, from Russia, Philippines and Indonesia, as well
as the Philippine Medical Association, gave the storybook a resounding thumbs up.

Russian scientist Dr. Olga Speranskaya, Co-Chairperson of IPEN, a global civil society
network promoting safe chemical policies and practices, said the book “is a
great example of a publication that raises the awareness of parents and
children about chemical hazard.”

“Parents unknowingly expose their kids to toxic chemicals
by bringing home consumer products, including toys, contaminated with lead or
by painting their houses with lead-based paints. Not many people are aware of
lead contents in paints and their health effects.The
book raises safety concerns for exposure in children due to extensive hand to
mouth behavior and highlight the need for eliminating lead from paint,” she
said.

Filipino Von Hernandez of Greenpeace International said: “Color need not
be associated with poison! This is the literal yet profound message that this
book offers. For our children to lead truly productive and colorful lives, we
have an obligation as parents and responsible citizens to ensure that their
living environment is free from significant sources of toxics exposure,
particularly household paints containing lead.”

“The risk posed by lead exposure to our kids is absolutely unacceptable,
especially because that risk is avoidable in the first place. Eliminating
the use of lead containing paints should not only be a no-brainer as this book
radiantly and evocatively puts across. It is also the ethical thing to
do! A toxics-free environment represents a bright-colored future for our
children," he emphasized.

Indonesian environmental engineer Yuyun Ismawati, Senior Advisor of Balifokus,
said: "This book is a great way to convey the important message of
chemical safety to parents through their children. To be aware of the right to
health and a toxics-free environment is among the basic rights that young and
adult readers could learn from this book."

Dr. E. Ulysses Dorotheo,
Chairperson, Committee for Environmental Health and Ecology of the Philippine
Medical Association (PMA), said: “This storybook is not just for
kids but also for parents and other adults, because lead toxicity affects everyone.
While we are concerned for the wellbeing of our children, many of us are like
Nanay Nida in the story, completely unaware of this serious public health and
safety issue, as well as the ways to address it.”

“Thankfully, both the story and illustrations explain in a clear and
simple way how we and especially our children are at risk of lead poisoning
from exposure to lead in paints that are used in our homes, workplaces,
classrooms, playgrounds, and toys. The particular focus on the symptoms
of lead toxicity, such as learning disabilities and behavioral
changes among infants and children, is a warning signal for us to protect
the future of our country,” he said.

The PMA hoped “that (the) storybook will generate more public awareness among
parents, teachers, students, policy makers, and business and government leaders
about the need to remove sources of lead exposure in our social environments,
particularly in homes and schools.”

Children’s environmental health champions Dr. Irma Macalinao of the University
of the Philippines and Prof. Scott Clark of the University of Cincinnati (Ohio,
USA) also reviewed “Ang Makulay na Buhay,” providing constructive ideas on
how to better communicate the hazards related to lead.

“Ang Makulay na Buhay” was produced with financial assistance from the European
Union, IPEN and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

30 July 2015

An environmental watchdog group welcomed the legal action
taken by customs authorities against the importer of 48 shipping containers of
misdeclared plastic scraps from Canada.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) today sued Pampanga-based Live Green Enterprises
for the illegal importation of heterogenous municipal garbage from Canada, a
move that was welcomed by the EcoWaste Coalition, a staunch anti-dumping
advocate.

“We welcome BOC’s legal action against the garbage importer that we hope will
be expeditiously tackled by the proper court,” said Aileen Lucero, Coordinator
of the EcoWaste Coalition.”

“The court, we pray, should order the importer to immediately re-export the
garbage to Canada and set a unequivocal ruling that will severely castigate and
punish any attempt to make our country into a global trash bin,” she added.

On Thursday, BOC sued Nelson Manio of Live Green Enterprises for violation of Sections
3601 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines and the DENR Administrative
Order 1994-28, or the “Interim Guidelines in the Importation of Recyclable
Material Containing Hazardous Substances."

DENR A.O. 1994-28 states that “no importation of heterogenous and unsorted
plastic materials shall be allowed” and that “all plastics should have no
traces of toxic materials.”

In their letter to the BOC and the Environmental Management Bureau on this
matter last June 25, the EcoWaste Coalition urged both agencies “to push for
the immediate return of the botched garbage shipments for environmentally-sound
disposal in Canada.”

“Allowing the landfilling of Canadian garbage into our soil would send a very
wrong and dangerous signal to waste traders that the Philippines, despite the
legal restrictions, is an open place where the refuse of affluent societies masked
as ‘plastic scraps’ can be sent for disposal,” the group said.

Shipping back the illegal garbage imports from Canada, the group said, “will
demonstrate that our government means business when it comes to protecting the
public health and the environment from illegal waste trade.”

The group also urged BOC “to pay keen attention on the entry of materials
described as ‘recyclable plastic scraps,’ which could be a smokescreen for the
illegal entry of residual ‘wastes collected from households,’ which are also
covered by the Basel Convention, along with other categories of hazardous
wastes.”

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and Their Disposal, of which the Philippines is a party, recognizes
“that any state has the sovereign right to ban the entry or disposal of foreign
hazardous wastes and other wastes in its territory.”

29 July 2015

A toxics watchdog group advised consumers to
refrain from buying artificial nail sets with matching glue that contains
hazardous substances such as chloroform and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).

“DBP and chloroform are among the over 1,350 substances that ‘must not form
part of the composition of cosmetic products’ as per Annex II, Part I of the
ASEAN Cosmetics Directive. Girls and women who are fond of art nails
should be wary of potential health hazards due to exposure to these chemicals
in some glue products,” said Thony Dizon, Coordinator of the EcoWaste
Coalition’s Project Protect.

Dizon urged consumers to exercise precaution after his group procured nine
brands of artificial nail sets in Divisoria, Manila that come with a little
tube of glue containing DBP as indicated on the label.

The above products lacked complete labeling information and the required
product notification from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

“Almost six months after the government warned against artificial nail sets
with DBP-containing adhesive glue, we still find them in the market as if they
are legal to sell,” lamented Dizon.

Last February 2015, the FDA warned against allergic effects from
DBP that “can cause the immune system to respond to chemical exposures with
immunological reactions that are harmful, varying from hives to life
threatening responses such as anaphylactic shock, where low blood pressure and
breathing difficulties can result in death.”

The EcoWaste Coalition also warned against a type of nail glue that was
recently banned in Denmark for containing excessive amount of chloroform, which
can cause skin irritation and damage a person’s health if ingested or inhaled.

The Danish health authorities further warned that “exposure to chloroform fumes
can cause damage to internal organs, mainly the liver and kidneys, as well as
risk of cancer.”

During its recent market monitoring in Divisoria, the group managed to buy a
nail glue for P8 per bottle that bears a close resemblance to the one that was
ordered withdrawn from the market by the Danish government.

To avoid potential exposure to chloroform and DBP in nail glues, the EcoWaste
Coalition urged consumers to patronize nail products with proper FDA
Certificate of Product Notification and marketed by FDA-licensed manufacturer,
importer or distributor.

28 July 2015

An
environmental watchdog group urged waste disposal facilities and surrounding
communities to actively participate in the metro-wide earthquake drill this
coming Thursday.

“The participation of all sectors is essential to avoid loss of life, lessen damage
to property and reduce contamination of the environment due to earthquake-induced
shaking of the ground,” said Aileen Lucero, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Landfills and other waste disposal sites and their host communities are not
exempt from the devastating effects of a strong quake and thus the need for
emergency readiness,” she said.

“We hope that disposal facilities for Metro Manila’s wastes, including those
located outside the metropolis, will take part in the MMDA-led earthquake drill
for better disaster preparedness,” she added.

Metro Manila’s wastes, according to the
website of the National Solid Waste Management Commission. are dumped in various sites such as the Payatas
landfill for Quezon City’s garbage; Navotas landfill, which receives waste from
Malabon, Manila and Navotas; and the Rizal Provincial Landfill in Rodriguez,
Rizal that serves Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati,
Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Parañaque,Pasay,
Pasig, Pateros, San Juan and Taguig local government units (LGUs).

Other landfills in operation or under construction in adjacent LGUs include
those in Norzagaray, Obando and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan and in Rodriguez
and San Mateo, Rizal.

A study by the Environmental Protection
Administration of Taiwan, which like the Philippines is located in a seismic
and typhoon belt, states that “natural disasters inflict damages on main
structures and peripheral engineering” of landfills.

According to the Taiwan EPA’s analysis of damages associated with 921 quake incidents,
“earthquake magnitude 5 and over can damage landfill sites that are located in
a fault or its surrounding areas.”

“Depending on the extent of damage of storage
facilities (retaining walls), collapse, crack and incline of the foundation, retaining
walls can get washed out, affecting the safety and leading to secondary
pollutions,” the study said.

“Our analysis clearly indicates that for landfill sites struck by disasters,
damages are accumulative and chain reactive; moreover, the potential hazard
factors can still exist after the landfill sites are recovered,” the study
pointed out.

About Me

is a public interest network of community, church, school, environmental and health groups pursuing sustainable solutions to waste, climate change and chemical issues facing the Philippines and the world.